Is This How It Ends?
by AngryRiff
Summary: Raimy is still chasing the Nightingale killer. Will that be the death of her? There's a bit of F/F in this one, nothing graphic. If that's not your thing, for whatever your reasoning is, I kindly ask that you skip this and read something else.
1. Face to face

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Frequency, no copyright infringement is intended. I do, however, own the character Parker Lally.**

 **The idea for this story just kind of popped into my head one night. It's not meant to be long, just enough to get it out of my head and onto the computer screen.**

* * *

Raimy felt coolness on her cheek, a contrast to the blinding white hot pain that radiated from her shoulder and side. Her eyes struggled to focus from both the darkness of the room and the blood loss that was slowly sending her towards unconsciousness.

Swallowing hard, she tried desperately to prepare herself for another attack, but her body refused to move. This was it, she thought. I'm going to die. Her gun had fallen from her grasp when he'd shot her and the darkness masked its whereabouts.

"Raimy. Raimy. Raimy," a man's voice sang out to her. She could hear his footsteps getting closer as his shoes clicked against the cement floor. He stood above her, his face hidden in the shadows. He nudged her in the side with the tip of his shoe. "You and your father have been one sweet pain in the ass over the years, but it looks like I win. Your father's dead, I killed your mother and now I get to watch you die. How perfect is that?"

"Fuck you," Raimy mumbled, turning her head away from him in disgust.

He laughed. "Always the tough little girl right up until the bitter end, huh? Your mother was a tough cookie, too – fought me pretty good. But I…"

"Shut up!" Raimy yelled, sending a shockwave of pain throughout her body as it aggravated her wounds, especially the one in her side. She knew the bullet had broken her ribs, and she imagined that the shards of bone had punctured her lung. Each breath she took was getting more difficult, the biting pain deep inside was sheer agony.

He smiled, basking in her physical and emotional pain as he got closer. He aimed is gun at her. "I remember when I had my hands around your mother's neck, squeezing the life out of her, she cried out for you as she took her last breath."

Rage overtook her and before she realized she was moving, she had kicked his legs out from underneath him, sending him crashing backwards onto the floor. A shot rang out that narrowly missed her, chipping the concrete by her leg. Wrapping herself around his arm, she struggled to get the gun away from him, but her new-found strength wasn't enough, especially in her condition.

A forceful shove sent her sprawling and he quickly got to his feet. "In a way I admire your tenacity," he said as he wiped his sleeve across his bottom lip. Aiming his gun at her, a devilish grin spread across his face. "Tell your parents I said hello."

Raimy closed her eyes seconds before a gunshot echoed through the room.


	2. Is anyone there?

"Raimy? Raimy are you there?" Frank yelled into the mic. He and Raimy had spoken every night but it had been two days since he'd heard from her. "Raimy!"

Gordo walked into the garage and heard Frank's voice booming through the ham. Picking up the microphone, he pressed the button. "Hello?"

Frank did a double take when he heard a male voice respond. He figured it to be Gordo but wasn't sure. "Umm, I'm looking for Raimy. She wasn't on last night and isn't here tonight. I'm a little worried."

"You must be the guy she talks to every night out here, geeking out with your little secret club." Gordo had walked in on Raimy talking to this secret guy a few times. She never told him much about the voice on the other side of the radio and only gave him vague answers when he tried to ask.

"Yeah, we umm….we do. Do you know where she is?" Frank chewed on this thumbnail, nervously waiting for him to answer.

Gordo sat down on the stool by the table. "As much as I'd like to say she's off on some hot date," he paused for a moment as he felt himself getting a little emotional. "She ah…she…"

"Is she okay?" Frank's voice cracked.

"No. I mean, yeah….um, they say she's going to be okay."

"They? Wh-who are 'they'?"

"I assume you know she's a cop, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"She got shot last night chasing down some guy she's been trying to find for a while now."

Frank felt nausea bubble up and settle in his throat. "Wait, the Nightingale killer?"

"Yeah, him."

"Is…is she…"

"She's in the I.C.U." Gordo couldn't help but tear up. "Raimy's one of the strongest most badass people I know and to see her lying there like that, hooked up to all kinds of machines. It's too much."

Tears welled up in Frank's eyes as he wished he could be by her side. "You said she's going to be okay though, right?"

"She got shot twice, punctured her lung, broke a couple of ribs. She lost a lot of blood but they said she will be okay."

"What happened to the Nightingale killer?"

"Got away. Local cops got to the scene, shot at him but he got away."

Frank took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Do they know who he is?"

"Some Deacon. Joe something. I overheard them talking about it in the hallway of the ER." Gordo sniffed away his tears and wiped his eyes. Gordo thought about the endless sea of cops and detectives that crowded the ER that night to be there for Raimy. He knew she'd appreciate it if she knew.

"Joe Hurley, he's a Deacon at St. Abigail's. Shit, she was right."

"She was right?"

"We talked about this case a lot – like, every night. She suspected him as the Nightingale killer." Anger simmered in every inch of Frank's body. He knew what he had to do.

He had to kill Joe Hurley.


	3. I'm here

Raimy's eyes wanted to open but also wanted to stay closed at the same time. It was an odd feeling, that tug towards sleep and the fight to remain awake.

Taking short glimpses around the room, her eyes came upon a woman sitting in a chair beside her bed. Her brow creased in confusion, she wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming.

"Raimy. Raimy, are you okay?" her mother asked, getting up from her chair and wiping a few strands of hair away from Raimy's forehead. She looked into Raimy's glassy, drug-hazed eyes and wished she could wrap her up in hug.

Raimy thought she had to be dead if she was seeing her mother. Her brain felt heavy and confused. Why was she was in a hospital? Then she remembered the Nightingale killer and the dark room – lying on the floor as he was about to kill her. Suddenly, one of the machines beside the bed began to sound an alarm.

"Whoa, easy. Relax, you're okay, sweetheart." Julie quickly pressed the buttons on one of the machines, quieting the alarm, and then began checking her vitals. "You have to breathe slowly. Can you do that for me?"

A nurse ran into the room and stopped when she saw Julie. "You okay in here?"

Julie nodded. "Yeah, Barbara. She just woke up and is a little confused, and probably scared."

"Mmm...mom?" Raimy mumbled.

"I'll let Dr. Healey know she's awake," the nurse said before disappearing to go find Raimy's surgeon.

"Shh, you're gonna be okay," her mother spoke quietly. "No talking for a bit. You've been out for a few days and they just took you off the respirator this morning. Your throat's going to be sore from the tube. No moving around either. We can discuss your injuries later when you're feeling better. How's the pain?"

Raimy didn't answer and started to cry. She was in pain, for sure, but her tears were more because her mother was finally back.

"Oh, honey." Julie cupped Raimy's face and wiped away the tears with her thumbs and then kissed her forehead.

"Is she awake?" a woman's voice asked from the doorway as she took a few steps into the room.

Julie turned to see her hesitantly standing by the door so she walked over to greet her. "Yeah, she just woke up," she said, wiping away a few tears of her own. Reaching out, she hugged the woman. Raimy looked on, her eyes still struggling to stay open. She looked at the woman her mother was with and recognized her. Parker Lally was a detective over at the 14th Precinct – a good detective. They'd shared war stories over drinks a handful of times whenever there was a group of cops getting together at one of the local bars after shift. There weren't many female detectives, so Raimy enjoyed her company.

"She needs more morphine, but I'll give you a couple of minutes to talk to her. She's a little freaked out so maybe you can help calm her down." Julie left the room and Parker came over to the side of the bed, taking Raimy's hand.

Raimy swallowed hard, "Hey." Her throat felt like it was on fire, so she couldn't manage much more than that.

Parker smiled at her. "Your mom's only giving me a few minutes to talk to you. I snuck in here to see if I could be here when you woke up. They want to get your statement, but they'll have to wait. I don't want them upsetting you more than you already are." She leaned in and kissed Raimy gently on the lips. "You scared me, Raimy. Why'd you go into that warehouse without me?"

Raimy was thoroughly confused by the kiss and the location of where she had been. "Warehouse?" The word came out in barely a whisper.

"You chased our suspect into that warehouse. That meth-head almost killed you. Don't ever do that again." She squeezed Raimy's hand and looked into the half-closed eyes of the woman she loved. Raimy looked like she was going to say something but grimaced instead. "I'll send your mom in to give you something for the pain." She gave Raimy another kiss, this one lasting a little longer. "Rest, I'll be by later to check on you." Raimy nodded as she watched her leave the room, now even more confused.

Julie came back into the room, concerned by the pained look on Raimy's face. "You okay, kiddo? Here," she said as she opened the morphine drip by the bed, "this should help."

Suddenly, Raimy's thoughts raced to her father and the immediate realization that he must have killed Joe. "Dad?" she wheezed out. "I…I have to…"

Julie took Raimy's hand as she noticed her heart rate increasing. "Raimy, you have to relax for me, okay?"

"I need to…to talk to him," she said through tears.

Julie started to cry. "I know Raimy, I wish he was still with us, too. I know he'd be right here by your side, day and night."

Raimy shook her head, "No. The radio…I need…" A wave of pain stopped her from saying anything further.

"It's the medication talking, sweetheart. Just relax and sleep. If you stress too much, you're going to hurt yourself."

Raimy let out a heavy sigh and felt the pain meds starting to take hold of her. Her eyes started to drift closed. "I need the radio," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.


	4. Days go by

Gordo walked into Raimy's room, teddy bear in-hand. "Good morning, Sunshine. Look who's up and at 'em," he said as he was pleased to see her sitting up and somewhat alert. He tucked the bear under her good arm. "For you. His name is Baxter, I named him on the way over here because he looks like a Baxter."

Raimy chuckled. "Ooookay."

He dragged the chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. "You look…good."

She tilted her head. "Is that code for 'you look like shit?'"

"No, actually, I mean it." He looked away for a moment and then looked back at her, thinking back to the night in the ER when he'd seen her lying in the bed surrounded by tubes and wires. "I'm sorry I haven't come by to see you. I've um…I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my best friend almost died."

She realized he was serious and it scared her. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Further inspection of him revealed that he was crying. "I love Baxter," she said sheepishly as she tried to lighten the mood.

He looked up at her and smiled, wiping is eyes. "Tell anybody about this and I'll deny it."

She laughed and grimaced. "Ow, don't make me laugh."

"Well, that's no fun," he said.

Silence filled the space between them for a few minutes before Raimy broke it. "Listen, you know the guy I talk to on the radio?"

Gordo nodded. "I already talked to him and told him what happened. He was worried about you."

Raimy's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, what? When did you talk to him?"

"Wednesday night. He said he knew about the Nightingale killer because you two talk about it all the time. He knew who he was when I mentioned his name, seemed to know a lot, actually. What do you two ta..."

"I _need_ to talk to him. Can you bring me the radio?"

Gordo laughed. "Raims, are you serious? You want me to drag that in here? You can't even use a cell phone in here so how…"

"Gordo. Please." Her eyes were welling up with tears. "It's really important."

"Fine. I'll get it. I'll bring it by tonight."

"Thank you."

"Who is he, Raimy? I mean, he seems like a really nice guy and everything, but it does concern me that you're talking to a complete stranger about stuff like your case and who knows what else. He was really upset about you."

"I can't talk about it now, but I promise I will tell you." Raimy thought about how much crazier he'd think she was when she told him it was her father.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," he said, pointing at her. "Normally I'd badger the hell out of you until you gave up and told me, but since you're not feeling so great I won't."

"It's a miracle, mark this date on the calendar," she said, lightly laughing. "Hey, have you seen Detective Lally out there at all?" Raimy asked, changing the subject.

"You mean your partner and _girlfriend_? Why? You two want to make out or something? Oooh, if you do I'll give you a hundred bucks if you let me stay and watch."

Raimy looked at him funny and then realized the rest of what he said. "Gordo!"

"Come on, you might be fooling everyone else trying to be all secretive about it, but you can't fool ol' Gordo," he said as he waved a finger at her. "I know you more than anyone, Raimy. I've seen the way you look at each other. And that night in the ER, she was more than freaked out. No one reacts like that unless they _really_ care about someone. I sat with her for hours. She cares about you a ton."

Raimy's brow creased and she laid her head back on the pillow. "I don't remember a lot of things, especially the part about how this happened."

Gordo looked up at all the medical equipment surrounding her bed. "Probably because they're pumping you full of all kinds of shit."

"Satch came by yesterday to take my statement but I couldn't tell him much of anything. Parker got tied up with a case and couldn't come by so I…" He watched her take a painful deep breath.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah." Her voice was small and pain-filled. "I just want all of this to go away," she said as she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to subside. The talking had worn her out and she was starting to feel tired.

"Sleep," he said as he looked at his watch. "I'll be back tonight with your radio." Standing up, he smiled at her. "I love you, Raimy."

"Love you back," she said with a grin.

"Not as much as Parker, of course. Parker and Raimy sitting in a…"

"Stop!"

"What? She's hot, you're a lucky woman."

"Go! Get out of here!" she said, shaking her head, laughing.

She was anxious to talk to her father to find out how Deacon Joe was killed. Not that it mattered because it had brought her mother back, just as they had hoped. She smiled at the thought and allowed that happiness to settle around her as she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Filling in the blanks

Parker came into Raimy's room and found her picking at a plate that had chicken and rice on it. "If I didn't know this was a hospital I'd swear you were in prison by the looks of that."

"If they want people to eat they should try serving food that's appetizing."

"That's a novel idea. I see you've got a Jell-O cup though, that's promising." Parker leaned in and kissed Raimy on the top of her head.

Raimy sighed. "What makes this worse is that when your mother is a nurse she makes you eat this garbage. She's already come in here twice to tell me to eat. I feel like I'm 8 years old again. She even had to cut it up for me." Raimy looked at Parker for sympathy. "Can you smuggle me in a burger or something?"

Parker put her hands up. "Oh no. I'm not getting in trouble with your mom."

"Gee, thanks."

Shrugging out of her coat, she tossed it on the end of the bed and settled down into the chair. "Sorry I couldn't come by last night."

Raimy put her fork down in defeat and pushed the plate away. "It's okay. I wouldn't have been much fun anyway. I feel like all I do is sleep." She grabbed the Jell-O cup and put it in her left hand. Pulling on the foil lid tugged on her injured shoulder, making her squeeze her eyes shut. "Fuck," she mumbled. Giving up, she tossed it onto the table in front of her.

"Here, I'll get it." Parker opened it and took the spoon from beside her plate, sinking it into the wobbly, red gelatin and handed it to Raimy. "I know how much you hate feeling vulnerable and don't like people to fuss over you, but you have no choice right now. You want me to feed it to you?"

She narrowed her eyes, "No, wise ass." She put the cup against her left hand and managed to dig out a spoonful, enjoying the coolness of the strawberry flavored treat. "Remind me never to get shot again."

"How's the pain?"

"Better than it was, but still hurts like hell. My surgeon told me he wants me up and walking around a little bit tomorrow. I'm sure that will be a ton of fun." Taking another spoonful, she was careful not to drop it off the spoon as she brought it to her mouth.

Parker motioned towards her plate. "Then I guess you better eat more than just that Jell-O."

Raimy frowned. "Not happening."

"Stubborn as always," she mumbled.

"I can hear you, you know."

Parker laughed and then changed the subject. "Satch told me he came by to take your statement but you couldn't remember much."

"Just bits and pieces," Raimy said with her mouth full. "I think I was too out of it. What the hell happened?"

"We got a tip saying that our suspect was hanging around that warehouse, trying to get some money off a friend. I was talking to a couple of guys outside by the truck fleet and you went to go talk to a guy sitting on the loading dock. Next thing I know, I hear shouting. I turned around and you were gone. By the time I got to the dock door, I heard two gunshots." Parker stopped and looked away from Raimy for a moment. "I found you on the ground and he was standing over you with his gun pointed at your head. I took him down."

Raimy stopped chewing and put the cup down on the table. "Shit," she said softly.

"If I went in there a few seconds later you'd…" Parker trailed off and couldn't say the words. She started to cry and reached for Raimy's hand, squeezing it tightly. "You were bleeding all over the place."

Raimy felt an undeniable familiar connection with her and squeezed back. She hadn't felt it before and chalked it up to the medically induced haze she was feeling earlier. "I'm sorry, Parker."

Parker mopped up the tears in her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater. "God, Raimy. If I didn't love you so damn much I'd poke you in your shoulder wound, I'm so mad at you," she laughed even though none of it was funny.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll be riding a desk for a while, out of harm's way."

Parker looked into Raimy's blue eyes and shook her head. Standing up, she leaned down and kissed her. This time, Raimy felt the desire to kiss her back.

Breaking the kiss, Parker ran her hand down Raimy's cheek. "You're so beautiful, even when you're shot full of holes."

Raimy smiled. "Oh yeah, I'm sure I'm pageant material. I'd kill for hot shower right now."

Parker cocked an eyebrow at her, "I'll come by later and give you a sponge bath," she joked.

Raimy frowned. "If I wasn't in a hospital I'd take you up on that."

Parker grabbed her jacket and put it back on. "Rain check then."

"Where are you going? You just got here."

"I have a stack of paperwork to get through. My goal is to keep up with it so that when it's time to take you home, I won't be stuck working O.T. to get it done."

"Ahh, I see."

Parker gave her another kiss. "I love you, Raimy," she said softly against her lips.

"I love you, too." Raimy found herself comfortably saying it back without hesitation.

"I'll see what I can do about getting you some real food to eat when I come back." She walked to the door, winking at her before leaving.

Closing her eyes, Raimy remembered fragments of being with Parker: lying in bed together, watching a movie together on the couch, and sitting in a car while on a stakeout. It was starting to come back to her, slowly. This new-found relationship was still caught between being foreign and comfortable, but each time Parker was with her it moved towards comfortable. Gordo was well aware of their relationship, but she still wasn't sure who else was; especially her mother.


	6. Dad?

An hour before visiting hours were over, Gordo brought the radio into Raimy's room. He figured the later he went the less people would be around to see him lugging this through the hallways.

"If you get in trouble for this, I will pretend that I know nothing about this."

She laughed. "Right, and I went all the way home to get it and bring it back here."

"Whatever," he teased as he set it on the table and plugged it in for her.

She stared at it for a minute as her nerves got the best of her, her hands shaking. It didn't go unnoticed by Gordo. "Raims? You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Her finger hovered over the "on" switch. "Um, I don't mean to…"

The light went on in Gordo's head. "Ah, I gotcha." He pointed towards the door. "You want me to go and leave you to…whatever this is."

She nodded. "I'm sorry, I promise I'll explain. I just need to talk to him first."

"You're not cheating on Parker are you," he asked, whispering.

"No! No. It's not like that at all."

"What am I supposed to think? You're all secretive about a dude over an old school radio. Can't you two use Tinder like everyone else?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Really?"

"Fine, I'm going. I'll come by tomorrow and check on you."

"Thank you," she said just as he disappeared from the doorway. He seemed sincerely irritated by her secrecy, but that was something she'd have to deal with later.

Taking in a slow breath, she calmed herself and flipped on the switch – watching as it crackled to life. Pressing the button on the mic, she felt her heart hammering away in her chest. "Dad?" her voice cracked. There was no answer on the other end. "Dad?" she called out again, shutting her eyes as she waited for a response.

"Raimy?"

She started to cry. "Yeah, it's me."

"Oh God, Raimy. Are you okay? I've been so worried about you, kiddo."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. The doctor said I can get out of here in another week." She stopped for a moment as it was still painful to get too emotional.

"Gosh, Raimy. I'm sorry. I thought maybe after I killed him it would have changed things so you wouldn't get hurt."

"That would have been nice." She absently picked at the edge of her blanket as she just listened to the sound of his voice.

"What happened? Gordo only told me bits and pieces."

"I went to Joe's house to look for Megan. I found her dead upstairs in one of the bedrooms. He had her wrapped up in a tarp. While I had my back turned he came into the room and tried to choke me. We fought for a bit, he shot me and then he dragged me down into the basement. I passed out just as he was about to kill me. When I woke up, my partner told me that a suspect we were looking for was the one that shot me."

"Why wasn't Satch with you?"

She paused for a moment. "I went there without him because my intention was to beat the shit out of him before I arrested him. Satch wouldn't have let me do that. Turns out, my partner is no longer Satch but someone else. A woman – Parker Lally."

"Wait, Charlie's kid?"

"Yup. Kinda took me by surprise." She didn't want to tell him anything further about Parker, at least not at the moment. "If anything good came out of this it was when I woke up. Mom was by my side. I thought it was all a dream at first, but she's back."

She could hear him crying. "We did it, Raims."

"I wish there was a way to bring you back to us. I really could have used you by my side a couple of days ago. It's so hard not having you here."

"I wish I could be there, too."

"I assume after you talked to Gordo you tracked Joe down and killed him."

"After Gordo told me what he did to you I knew that I had no choice but to kill him. When you're feeling better we can talk more about it. Just know that I did what I had to do for you and your mom."

"Raimy? What are you doing?" a nurse asked as she walked into the room. "What's this?"

"It's an old ham radio. I…I had to talk to someone and…"

"If anyone sees this in here we'll both be in trouble, me more than you. You have to turn it off now."

"Okay," she said before grabbing the mic. "I have to go. I got busted having the radio in here."

Frank laughed. "Okay. I'll talk to you when you get home." He didn't dare say anything else, knowing someone was in the room with her.

The nurse unplugged the radio and lifted it from the table, setting it on the chair on the opposite side of the room. "Do NOT use this in here again."

Raimy half smiled. "I wouldn't be able to go over there and get it even if I wanted to."

"Get some rest. I'll come by in about an hour to check on you."

Leaning back on the pillow, Raimy looked at the radio and contemplated getting up to get it. She quickly decided against it as she knew she'd only end up on the floor and getting herself into more trouble.


	7. Tread lightly

_"_ _Don't fall and make a fool of yourself,"_ Raimy thought to herself as she got to her feet. She bit her bottom lip as pain spread down her left side. Her left arm was bound tightly to her chest to keep her shoulder from moving around too much, but in turn it aggravated the bullet wound and chest tube incision on her left side - rubbing against the stitches and irritating her bruised and battered skin.

"Just take it slow," Julie reminded her. Raimy was always one to push things to the limit, even as a kid, so she figured today would be no different.

With a hard swallow she took her first unsteady step – a little surprised at how much effort it took. She'd never been shot before or even seriously hurt, despite the dangerous situations she'd found herself in on the job, so being in this much pain was a bit overwhelming. "I don't think fast is even an option," she joked, sort of. The next step was a little stronger, but putting her weight on her left side was proving to be a challenge and forced a string of expletives out of her mouth.

"That's it. Nice and slow. I've got you." Julie knew her grip on Raimy's elbow was probably a little too tight, but her emotional need to hold onto her daughter made it impossible for her to loosen that grip. She hated the fact that Raimy was following in Frank's footsteps by being a cop; putting herself in harm's way.

She took about four steps forward and felt like she'd run a marathon. Her face paled as the pain throbbed throughout her left side and she thought she might faint, but she gritted her teeth and pressed on. "God, this sucks." Tears pricked the corners of her eyes but she refused to cry.

"I know but you have to get up and walk around. It'll get easier." It was hard for Julie to see her daughter in so much pain. "Breathe, Raimy. Don't hold your breath."

"Can't," she gasped. "My chest feels like it's on fire."

They got a few steps out into the hallway when Parker walked up the hall and saw Raimy's fragile state: her mother holding onto her with one hand and rolling her IV pole along with the other.

"Hey, Raimy. You trying to bust out of here? I'll race you to the car." She tried to make light of the situation, but inside she was concerned as hell. Raimy's forehead was covered in sweat and her jaw was set so tightly she thought she might break it.

"Everyone's a comedian," she said through gritted teeth and a quick breath as she successfully took another step.

Julie could feel Raimy start to sag from exhaustion. "Alright, let's turn around and get you back to bed," Julie said. "That's probably enough for today. That was really good for your first try!"

Parker stayed close to Raimy's left side just in case she fell. "You're doing awesome, Raims."

Raimy closed her eyes the rest of the way, trying desperately not to throw up from the pain. _"Don't you dare up-chuck,"_ she said over and over in her head. _"Just a few more steps and that's it. Don't be a baby about it,"_ she chided herself. She hated feeling vulnerable. Raimy Sullivan doesn't do vulnerable, so having her mother and girlfriend see her like this was borderline humiliating.

Julie helped her get back into bed, covering her up with a blanket. "I'll go get some cool towels to wipe your face."

Raimy tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, trying hard not to burst into tears. "It h-hurts to bre-breathe."

"Hey. Hey, look at me. You're okay," Parker said, cupping Raimy's face as she noticed her shaking. "Just relax and breathe. Tensing up is only going to make it hurt worse."

"I hate this. How is walking…so fucking difficult?" She pressed her right hand against her wounded side, hoping that would somehow relieve the pain.

"It's going to take a while. Give yourself a break. No one takes two to the chest and is back to tackling suspects the next day. Not even Raimy Sullivan." She wiped away a stray tear that had rolled down Raimy's cheek.

Julie returned to the room with a couple of towels. She wiped Raimy's face and neck with the dry one and then placed the cool, wet one on her forehead. "Rest. We'll try again tomorrow, maybe go a little further?"

"Great," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "I can't wait."

Julie half smiled. "The stronger you get the quicker you can get out of here, but that doesn't mean rushing."

With that, Raimy opened her eyes, albeit partially. "In that case, I'll get back up now." Knowing it would push her mother's buttons, she moved the blanket to make it appear like she was going to get out of bed.

That got a good laugh out of Parker and Julie nudged her shoulder before looking at Raimy. "Hello? Did you hear what I said? _No_ rushing."

Raimy laughed. "Uh huh." It hurt to laugh but in some sick way she thought it was funny when her mother got irritated at her.

Parker shook her head. "Like I said before, stubborn."

"Wait until she gets home. I've dealt with my fair share of horrible patients but Raimy's got to be the worst," Julie joked as she injected some pain medication into Raimy's IV and put the nasal cannula back on so she could get some air.

Raimy narrowed her eyes. "My ears still work, you know."

Julie smiled at her, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Rest, Peanut."

The medication quickly spread warmth throughout Raimy's body, easing away the tension and slurring her speech. "You haven't call…called me ttthat in forrrrever."

Tears started to spill from her eyes. "I almost lost you. I already lost your father. I can't stand the thought of losing you too."

Raimy swallowed hard as her eyes began to close. "Gonna take….more tttthan 'coupla bullets to…" She didn't get to finish and drifted off to sleep.

Julie felt Parker's hand on her shoulder. Spinning around, she sobbed in Parker's arms. "I can't lose her."

Parker held her tightly. "I won't let that happen."

"I can't stop thinking about that night they brought her in. They paged me to come down to the ER and I knew…I knew right away it was her. They didn't have to tell me. When I went into the trauma bay, there was blood all over the floor."

Breaking their embrace, Parker took Julie's hands into hers and guided her over to the chair by the bed. "Sit," she said quietly as she sat in the chair beside it, never letting go.

"I see blood every day, but this was different." Sniffing away the tears, she took a deep breath and continued. "There were so many doctors and nurses around her. I know them all but they felt like strangers to me in that moment.

"One of the nurses moved out of the way to let me get to her and -" Julie paused and tried to maintain her composure, feeling Parker squeeze her hands. "She opened her eyes for just a few minutes, just before they intubated her, so I was able to at least let her know that I was there.

"I saw the bullet hole in her side leaking blood while they were trying to assess whether her lung had been hit. Then her pressure started to drop and all I heard was shouting, machines beeping, and chaos. Then her….her eyes rolled up in her head and I felt someone ushering me out of the way. I thought for sure I was going to lose her!" Julie began crying again and Parker wrapped her arms around her, shedding tears of her own.

"I'm so sorry that you had to see her like that." They held their embrace for a while, silence settling in around them.

Julie wiped her eyes and took Parker's hand. "I'm sorry, I know you're hurting, too. You were there when it happened so I can only imagine what that felt like."

Parker slumped back in her chair for a moment before leaning forward, putting her head in her hands. "I was completely numb when I walked into that room and saw her lying there." She ran her hands through her hair and then looked up at Raimy who was quietly sleeping, oblivious to the emotional pain this had caused everyone.

"It felt like an eternity until the EMT's got there. I held onto her wounds as tightly as I could even though she begged me to stop be….because it hurt so much." Parker bit her bottom lip in an effort to not completely break down.

Julie kissed the side of Parker's head and then looked at Raimy. "She's lucky to have you."

Wiping her eyes, Parker took a deep breath and then let it out. "She's a handful but…" Before continuing she thought about what she was about to say next.

"But what?"

"I'm in love with your daughter, Mrs. Sullivan, and have been for quite some time. I would do anything for her."

Julie smiled and nudged Parker lightly. "I can tell. I kinda figured something was going on between you two. She smiles, a lot. She mentions you all the time." Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes for a moment. "That night in the ER, I knew then just how much you really care for her. I mean, I knew before but it really confirmed my suspicions."

Parker smiled, feeling her cheeks redden slightly. "I'm glad that you're cool with it."

"Raimy's happy. That means everything to me. And with all this going on right now, I'm glad she has you in her life. She's going to need you." Julie's voice cracked as she started to become emotional again.

"And I will be there for her every step of the way."

Julie laughed. "I meant what I said earlier. She's a horrible patient and you'll probably want to run away after two days. Promise me you won't let her push you away."

Parker looked directly into Julie's eyes, "Never."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay in updating, just been real busy. If you are enjoying this story, please let me know. Thank you to everyone that is reading, following and marked it as a favorite. I realize that the format isn't for everyone, so thank you.

If you love this show, please help save it. The CW still has not made a decision on its renewal and are looking at Netflix viewership, episode downloads from Amazon, iTunes, etc. and onDemand viewership. We are hoping that if the CW passes on the show that Netflix will pick it up. Many new fans have found the show there so if you have Netflix, please watch it as often as possible and be sure to rate it as well! The CW has until May to make a final decision.


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